Wakey Wakey
by MindRamble
Summary: Just a little thank you to all the Cordano writers. If you like, I'll post the rest.
1. Default Chapter

Cordano and proud of it!  
  
I've always thought that there has to be something more to Robert Romano. Still can't believe what they (see South Park) did - if they couldn't think of a better story line, why didn't they just pay a visit to ff.net? There really was no need to scrape the bottom of the barrel.  
  
Disclaimer: I'm glad I don't own any of the characters. I have enough responsibility in my life as it is. Apologies for any unintended infringements, yada, yada. Should also mention that anything vaguely medical or related to US culture/society is based solely on artistic license - if it fits, its in.   
  
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'Just when I thought my life couldn't possibly get any worse,' Robert Romano said to himself as he jerkily threw one of the pebbles into the Chicago night.  
  
Ignoring the people walking past him, he leant against the bridge's railing and looked down into the murkiness below. Images of people solving their problems by jumping to certain death flashed through his mind but the notion of doing so himself was easily dismissed. Robert Patrick Romano was not a quitter. If he had been, he would have killed himself a long time ago when his mind was clouded by pain and anxiety as he faced the prospect of losing everything he had worked so hard for.  
  
Today had started out like any other since the helicopter accident. Physical therapy had been particularly depressing due to the lack of progress. In fact, due to the regression of the sensory level if he was honest. Of course he'd taken his frustrations out on his therapist but she knew to expect that from him. Surely he wasn't the only patient to do so. Perhaps the tea making disaster was his punishment for that.  
  
"Robert?" a musical voice queried from behind.  
  
Robert froze and then smiled ironically down at his shoes. Steeling himself, he turned to face Dr Elizabeth Corday, acting Chief of Surgery and likely to be permanent now.  
  
"Lizzie," he acknowledged neutrally.  
  
"I left several messages for you. Didn't you get them?"  
  
"Yes I did. Sorry, but I really didn't feel up to talking. Still don't as a matter of fact."  
  
Elizabeth was undeterred by his comment. She knew him well enough to know when he was lying.  
  
"So how did it go with plastics?"  
  
Robert bit back the hurtful comment and took a calming breath. He hated that Lizzie had been dragged into his latest mishap, he hated the pitying sympathy she showed. Most of all, he hated how she saw straight through him sometimes. It left him defenseless when he needed to feel strong.  
  
"They say its salvageable but can't do much about the scars."  
  
"What treatment did they propose and when?"  
  
"Doesn't really matter. I've decided to decline their generous offer and cut my losses before I manage to …"   
  
"What do you mean 'cut your losses'?" Elizabeth interrupted.  
  
"The arm's useless, we all know it. After this afternoon, its nothing but a charred deadweight."  
  
"Don't be stupid, Robert! I've told you before, you have to be patient. Not even you can expect miracles overnight."  
  
"Patient?! I can't feel a damn thing, Lizzie. I didn't even notice my goddamn arm was on fire until I smelt it!" Robert spat out loudly.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Eliz asked quietly after she had absorbed this new information.  
  
"What good would it have done?"  
  
"It always helps to talk about these things. Robert, if you're not going to see someone following such a trauma, at least talk to me. You can't keep this sort of things bottled up. Its not healthy."  
  
"Well, that's very insightful of you Dr Corday," Robert said with his trademark sarcasm. "Look, there are no other options. Its going and that's it."  
  
"So you're just going to give up? The Great Rocket Romano is going to amputate his own arm because of one little accident?" she mocked, angry at him for being so stubborn.  
  
"I wouldn't call it little …"   
  
"Shut up Robert! There are other options. If you would just follow plastic's advise, there is hope."  
  
"Jesus! Don't you ever give up?" he snapped. "There is no hope. There is no future. Its over and I want this fucking nightmare to end now!"  
  
Elizabeth could see he was getting more and more agitated and knew from previous experience they would get nowhere. She tried a different tactic.  
  
"Robert, please reconsider. At least don't make such a decision tonight, when you're angry and frustrated. Give yourself time to calm down and look at the situation objectively," she pleaded.  
  
Robert's shoulders slumped in resignation. Elizabeth's logical plea caused him to seriously doubt the path he had been so set on before she arrived.  
  
He turned back and looked at her carefully and was about to reply when another male voice broke in.  
  
"Your ride awaits, m'lady," Dr Edward Dorsett said, bowing theatrically, totally unaware of the conversation he interrupted.  
  
Elizabeth almost screamed at the intruder to go away but the damage was done. Her eyes hadn't left Robert's face and she watched with dismay as the shutters came down, fast and loud. She opened her mouth to explain but he got there first.  
  
"Save it! Have a nice evening," Robert said coldly and walked away.  
  
"Oops, was it something I said?" Dorsett mocked as they both watched Robert disappear.  
  
No longer in the mood to be nice to the junior surgeon, Elizabeth rounded on him angrily.  
  
"No, it wasn't something you said," she snapped, stressing the last word. "If you don't mind, I'm going to make my own way home. Goodnight."  
  
"Hey, hey. Don't be like that! I'm sorry I interrupted you little tête à tête with County's One Armed Wonder," Dorsett said as he grabbed her arm to stop her walking away.  
  
"Let go of me, Dr Dorsett, and don't you ever refer to Dr Romano by anything other than his title. Do I make myself clear?" she asked coldly.  
  
Slightly taken aback, Dorsett held up his hands in defeat in surrender and stepped back.  
  
"So terribly sorry. Didn't realize you two were that close."  
  
Elizabeth chose not to reply to that one, simply glaring at the smug doctor and walking away. She briefly contemplated running after Robert but knew her presence would no longer be welcome if his parting glare was any indication.   
  
Robert called in sick the next day, not unsurprising given the state his arm was in. Elizabeth decided to give him the whole day to cool off before trying to convince him to change his mind again. The following morning, she arrived early and quickly checked the surgical schedule. She would have missed it if she had been in a hurry. Overnight, somebody had added a surgery for one of the vascular and orthopedic surgeons. The patient's name had been omitted but Elizabeth knew exactly who that would be.  
  
Luckily, it was scheduled for later that morning so she still had time. After a search through the hospital database, she found one R. Romano listed as occupying room 331. She used the dash down the hall and stairs to calm herself and plan what she was going to say.  
  
After checking with the duty nurse, she learnt that Robert was already awake. In fact, he had barely slept at all during the night. Elizabeth knocked lightly on the door and opened it when she heard a familiar voice call out.  
  
Robert was sitting up in bed, on top of the covers and dressed in jeans and a dark t-shirt. He rolled his eyes comically when he saw who his visitor was. Elizabeth didn't say anything as she walked up to the bed and pulled up a chair. Robert continued to stare at her, not particularly liking the questioning exasperation.  
  
"Well, you can't blame me for trying," he stated quietly to end the silence.  
  
"No and you can't blame me for being disappointed in you for doing so," she replied.  
  
"Its not your decision, Lizzie," Robert reiterated tiredly.  
  
"So? Surely you'll listen to my opinion though? Even if you don't accept it as a friend, perhaps my professional opinion might have some weight."  
  
"I did listen to your opinion. However, I just don't see that you have a valid point. The arm is not going to get better, its only going to cause more and more problems. I'd just be delaying the inevitable if I followed your advice."  
  
"You're not going to even try?"  
  
"I've been trying for five months, Lizzie."  
  
'What else was there to say?' Elizabeth wondered as she looked anywhere but at Robert. She idly noted the bed was covered in paperwork and almost laughed that even just before he has his arm cut off, Robert Romano is still working. Sadly, she realized that it was his way of coping. It was denial through and through but there was nothing she could do about it.  
  
"Fine," she said standing up suddenly. "I want nothing to do with this then. You are just reacting badly to a setback. This is wrong, Robert. That's just my professional opinion though."  
  
"Lizzie, please, this is hard enough as it is."  
  
"Really? You're making it look extraordinarily easy. I shouldn't be surprised though. I mean, its not like... oh forget it. I've tried to make you see sense but there's obviously nothing I can say to change your mind. You are one stubborn man, Robert Romano, and I don't mean that kindly."  
  
"You act as if that's news to you."  
  
Elizabeth simply stared at him, the anger gone, replaced by sadness.  
  
"Goodbye, Robert," she replied sadly and walked out of the room.  
  
It took all her reserves not to keep checking on him as the time of his surgery grew close. She may have said she wanted nothing to do with his surgery but her heart couldn't abandon him, especially when he had always been there for her. Elizabeth had every intention of being there as he went under and staying with him recovery. However, she was called down to ER for a surgical consult half an hour before Robert's surgery and her intentions disappeared. Absorbed by the injuries of the four children from the MVA, Elizabeth barely remembered her plans. By the time she started to make her way back up, Robert was already unconscious.   
  
Elizabeth's pager sounded two floors below surgery and she glanced at the screen. Noting it was Shirley, she decided to stop at the desk before going to check on Robert.  
  
The usually unfazed nurse was looking scared as she met Elizabeth halfway. She barely managed to stammer out the few words but it was enough.  
  
"Its Dr Romano."  
  
At first, Elizabeth first thought their boss has done something offensive yet again and she is being called upon to go and sort it out. Then she realized Shirley's expression is not the usual amused exasperation but more of fear and concern. Without needing ask any questions, Elizabeth ran down to the OR where was Robert due to undergo surgery. As she scrubbed in, Elizabeth looked through the window and was dismayed to see the surgeons desperately performing CPR on the patient.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, sweeping into the room.  
  
"He went too deep and his heart stopped," one of the surgeons answered clinically without stopping chest compressions.  
  
Elizabeth looked at the monitors and begged the flat line to jump.  
  
"How long as he been down?"  
  
"Three minutes."  
  
Elizabeth galvanized herself into action and stepped up to the gurney's head. The scared looking anesthetist quickly moved out of the way and Elizabeth took his place. She looked down at Robert's still face. Even intubated, his lips were tinted blue and his skin was paler she than ever seen.  
  
"You gave him some anesthesia-reversal agent?"  
  
"Yes but its not working."  
  
Elizabeth snapped out an order for another dose and some adrenaline. When they arrived, she quickly administered the first and watched as the monitor line started jumping, but it was irregular and not enough to stop compressions. At least there was some reaction though. In a haze of efficiency, the resuscitation crash cart was brought closer and the paddles charged.  
  
"Clear!" she warned and all the other medical staff stepped back. Elizabeth winced as Robert's body jerked but the feeble heart rhythm didn't improve. She determinedly ordered a higher charge and administered the electric surge. When they was still no change, Elizabeth could feel the fear seeping through her bones. In the back of her mind, she was very aware Robert may not want to survive. No one better than her could understand what he stood to lose if his arm didn't recover.  
  
"Come on Robert! Not like this. Please, I can't lose you too," she begged, regardless of all her colleagues present.  
  
"Give him the adrenaline," she ordered as she turned to increase the charge once more. She ignored the questioning glance from the nurse on the other side of the machine. They both knew such a shock was risky but they stood to lose the patient anyway.  
  
Holding her breath, Elizabeth placed the paddles on Robert's chest in their last attempt to restart his heart. They all waited silently, watching the monitor as the line jumped erratically then settled into steady rhythm, slow at first but then it picked up.  
  
Amid the collective sigh of relief as Robert's condition stabilized, Elizabeth handed back the paddles and pulled up one of the stools so she could sit beside his head. Ignoring the sounds of the surgical staff doing their jobs, Elizabeth reached out to touch Robert's face. Tentatively at first, almost scared he would wake up and catch her in the act, she softly stroked his cool skin. He was by no means out of the woods yet. There could be serious damage caused by the heart failure including brain damage. She hated to think that Robert would be incapacitated like that, it seemed so wrong.  
  
"Robert, can you hear me?" she asked.  
  
When there was no reaction, Elizabeth shone her penlight into his eyes to test the pupil reaction. The response from the brown eyes was uneven and sluggish at best. Only a CT scan would be able to reveal the true extent of any trauma suffered.  
  
"Robert," she said again, louder, without any real hope that he would respond.  
  
"You'd better be all right Dr Romano," she whispered vehemently before pushing herself away from the gurney.  
  
"I'm going to get him settled in ICU and then I want to see you in my office," Elizabeth stated, addressing her comments to the surgeons and anesthetist. She ignored the looks all three shared and walked to the wall phone to warn the ICU unit of the new arrival.


	2. 2

Disclaimer: Before anyone yells, I'm not homophobic, it just sort of fitted.

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An hour later, all four doctors were sitting in Elizabeth's office, reviewing what had gone wrong.

"Everything was fine. He went under and there were no signs of distress until I made first incision on the arm," the orthopedic surgeon stated.

"Then the BP dropped off rapidly and he went into cardiac arrest.  We immediately stopped the surgery and started CPR."

"Well something obviously happened.  Perhaps an allergy?" Elizabeth proposed.

"There's nothing in his file to suggest that.  No history of negative reactions to any type of anesthesia at all.  I checked again before coming here.  All the equipment is working fine.  The BP and O2 levels were perfect and so I gave the go ahead to start, as I have done hundreds of times.  It was textbook.  Then everything just dropped off.  The only explanation I can think of is a sudden allergic reaction or unknown heart problem that wasn't picked up on before," the anesthetist added.

"Ok, lets go with those possibilities for now.  When he's strong I enough, I'll have some tests run," 

Elizabeth replied and made a note in the patient's file.

"It had to happen with Romano," one of the surgeons said miserably. "I mean, of all the doctors, hell even nurses, in this place, why did this have to happen when I was slicing the Chief of Staff?"

"You know Robert Romano.  He has the power to piss you off even when unconscious," the other surgeon quipped back.

Elizabeth smiled evilly when all three suddenly turned to look guiltily in her direction.

"Don't worry, even if I told him you said that, he'd take it as a compliment," she said light-heartedly, vaguely wondering why they looked so scared.

After dismissing the trio, Elizabeth made sure her schedule was clear before heading down to ICU.  She had just stepped off the elevator when she was accosted by Kerry Weaver.

"Elizabeth! I just heard about Robert.  What on earth happened?"

"We don't know yet.  It's a damn mystery but that's Robert through and through.  He'll be undergoing tests when he's well enough.  We don't want this happening again.  As it is, I have two surgeons and one anesthetist who have sworn never to go near him with a scalpel again."

Dr Weaver couldn't help but chuckle at that as she followed Elizabeth into Robert's room.  They both fell silent as they watched their usually hyperactive boss lying motionless, hooked up to life support.

"Is he in a coma?" Kerry asked quietly.

"Seems so.  It's not too deep though.  The CT scan was clear and we've upgraded his condition to critical but stable.  I'd say his system is just recovering from the shock.  When he's ready, he'll wake up."

"So we should enjoy the peace and quiet while we can then?" Kerry joked, attempting to hide her relief at the positive prognosis.

"Yep.  You'll pass the word around?"

"With pleasure.  What about his arm?"

"Well, obviously surgery's out of the question.  However, as we both know, we can't leave those burns untreated any longer.  I left a message with Gavin Polder at Rush."

"The burns specialist?  I didn't know you knew him."

"I don't really.  Robert and I met him at a function last year.  For some reason I have yet to fathom, they got on like a house on fire.  It might have something to do with their similar sense of humor.  I know he and Robert meet up outside of work occasionally."

Kerry was about to voice her surprise at Robert actually having a friend but she quickly remembered whom she was talking to.  The relationship between Drs Corday and Romano was a constant mystery to their colleagues. 

Some were sure they were sleeping together and argued in public as a cover.  Others were adamant that Elizabeth would never be crazy enough to do so.  Kerry was one of the privileged few in a position to witness the true relationship between the two surgeons.  She still hadn't decided if it could be called friendship but she did suspect Elizabeth was constantly fighting an attraction to Robert.  It wasn't totally unfeasible as Robert could be quite charming and funny when he wanted.  You just had to forget the cruel sarcasm and arrogance, perhaps combined with a few neat vodka shots.

"Speak of the devil!" Elizabeth exclaimed as a bearded middle-aged man walked past the window of Robert's room.  He stopped suddenly and stepped back to look into the room he just passed.  With a scowl, he pushed open the door and marched up to the bed.

Apart from the scowl, Dr Gavin Polder could almost pass for your stereotypical jovial grandfather.

"Dr Corday, if I remember correctly.  You're the one who left the message."

"Yes.  Thank you for coming so soon."

"And miss out on this?" Polder scoffed, indicating Robert's unconscious form.

"Do I want to know how he managed to get himself into such a state?"

"No, not really.  This is Dr Kerry Weaver, County's ER Chief."

"Oh yes, the raging lesbian.  Robert's mentioned you," Polder stated rudely, not even offering his hand to shake.

Kerry steeled herself, an idea forming in her head to explain why Robert Romano was friends with this man.

"I'm sure he has and no, I don't particularly want to hear exactly what he's said.  Elizabeth, will you keep me informed?"

"Of course," Elizabeth replied, feeling sorry for the other woman.  First Robert and now Polder.

Once the ER Chief was out of the room, Elizabeth turned back to the visiting doctor.  She tried hard to show her disapproval but his disarming grin made it very difficult.

"You really shouldn't say things like that, especially when you're only here by invitation."

"Oh dear, do you think I'll get banned from coming back?" he retorted sarcastically, his lack of remorse evident.  Without waiting for her to reply, Polder switched to his professional mode.

"What's his condition?"

"Um, mild coma.  There's no evidence of cranial trauma on the scans.  His BP's steady but he hasn't shown any sign of waking up nor has he triggered the vent."

"Its been how long?"

Elizabeth quickly glanced at her watch.

"Just over two hours."

"A bit early for that then don't you think?"

"Yes, I was merely giving you an update as you requested," Elizabeth defended, keeping her cool.  After six years of Robert Romano she found she was quite good at that. Part of Elizabeth was irritated but the other half smiled, taking comfort from the Robert-like behavior.  If she couldn't have the real thing, a reminder would do.

'Good God, where on earth did that come from?' Elizabeth asked herself with mental slap.

Quickly pulling herself together, Elizabeth returned her attention to the occupants of the room.  Polder had pulled on gloves and was in the process of carefully removing the bandages covering the burns.  Pulling up a stool, he began to examine Robert's arm, in silence at first.  Then he made some obscure comment on a story that he had heard on the radio that morning.  Elizabeth was about to respond when she realized Polder wasn't talking to her but to Robert.  She felt like an intruder, listening to the one-sided conversation, jumping backwards and forwards across a wide range of topics.  The comments were delivered as if Robert was wide-awake and fully participating and Elizabeth could easily imagine the two of them conversing over a beer or coffee.  It was incredibly touching to witness.

"When did this happen?" Polder asked softly, breaking her reverie.

"Yesterday afternoon.  He went home with a headache and was making some tea when his sling caught fire.  He didn't notice until he smelt...well, until it was too late."

Polder looked down at his friend gravely.

"I take it someone from County has had a look."

"Yes, our plastics department treated the burns and gave him a list of his options."

"Current prognosis?"

"Good for now.  There have no been no setbacks since he was resuscitated and his condition is stable," Elizabeth recounted.

Polder stood swiftly and walked briskly to the end of the bed.  Picking up the patient chart, he scanned the contents and the turned abruptly to face Elizabeth.

"You don't mind if I bring my own team over?  Frankly, just between the three of us, I wouldn't trust County's staff to man my barbeque.  Present company excluded of course."

Elizabeth wondered if he knew just how rude he was and conceded he mostly probably did.  When she had first met Robert, she had wondered the same thing.  It hadn't taken long to realize it was the product of provocation and pure arrogance.

She at least acknowledged Polder had asked her permission in recognition of her position and that Robert was technically her patient.

"Fine," she replied stiffly.

 Polder nodded his thanks, "Can I use your phone to call Rush?"

"Of course.  I'll take you up now if you have finished here," Elizabeth offered.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth led the visiting specialist out of the ICU and to her office where she gestured towards her telephone.  She left him to make his call while she checked in with Shirley at the surgical desk.  Luckily there was nothing pressing, at least nothing that couldn't be handled by the other surgeons.  Shirley didn't hesitate to ask after Dr Romano and Elizabeth found herself with quite an audience as she delivered her optimistic prognosis.

Elizabeth returned to her office just as Polder replaced the receiver.

"They'll be here in half an hour," he told her bluntly then turned to scrutinize her office.

"What is it about County has that keeps you all here?" he demanded.

"I fail to understand why a surgeon of Robert's caliber stays in this dump.  Same for you if Robert's opinion of you is anything to go by," he continued without waiting for her response.

Elizabeth smirked at the hidden compliment and said she didn't know the answer.

Snorting loudly, Polder said,

"Well it must be something because there is no way Robert Romano would turn down all those offers for nothing."

Taken aback, Elizabeth bluntly asked what offers.

"What offers?!" Polder parroted back.  "Even after the accident, hospitals all around the country are begging Robert to work for them.  I know for a fact that he was offered Chief of Staff at Rush several times for pretty impressive salary and perks that would make a politician cry.  Robert has always been very reticent about what makes him stay at County," he added slyly, with a suggestive wink in Elizabeth's direction.

Changing the subject, Elizabeth asked,

"When did you last see Robert?"

"We went out for dinner two weeks ago," Polder responded immediately.  "I knew nothing about the burns nor the surgery.  I'm going to give him hell for the professional slight too."  

Elizabeth looked up from the file she was flipping through when he didn't continue.  Once he was sure his audience was paying attention, Polder delivered the punch line.

"Can you believe he chose to have his arm chopped off rather than let the Great Polder sort it out for him?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and laughed bitterly,

"Robert wasn't really in logical frame of mind.  I tried to talk him out of the surgery several times but he is such a stubborn little man!"

Polder stayed silent for a few moments before responding to that.

"Perhaps all this is someone's way of telling him he was being an idiot and preventing from making irreversible decision."

"Surely there was a less drastic method," Elizabeth retorted.

"Like a good swift kick up the ass?"

"Do you actually know anyone brave enough to kick Robert Romano up the ass?"

Polder grinned mysteriously,

"You've obviously never met his sister."

"Robert has never mentioned a sister.  I remember a passing reference to niece but that's all," she recovered quickly.  

Polder started laughing heartily and Elizabeth patiently waited for him to share the joke.

"No wonder! From what I saw Robert is totally incapable of maintaining his infamous charisma in the face of the onslaught.  I must be one of the privileged few who have witnessed Dr Romano losing an argument.  He didn't give up easily mind, but she defeated him all the same."

"Just how many siblings does he have?"

"One sister and one brother although they're not actually related by blood.  However, that's not my story to tell so if you want to know more, you're going to have to pry the details out of Robert and I'd suggest the use of drugs to help loosen his tongue."

"Is that how you found out?"

"Oh no!  We were at Robert's house watching a game when the front door opened and a woman's voice called out. Have you ever seen Robert Romano in a blind panic?"

Elizabeth immediately thought of their fight to save Lucy Knight but that was more sad desperation than panic so she simply shook her head.

"Well," Polder said, rubbing his hands together in the build up to what was obviously a good story, "Robert ordered me to stay in the den and dashed out of door.  I heard raised voices and next thing I knew, the door flew open and a stunning raven haired woman swept into the room, closely followed by an angry Robert. She just totally ignored Robert's orders to leave and walked right up to me and introduced herself," he revealed, chuckling at the memory.

"I asked if she was Robert's secret wife.  You should have seen look two of them shared before they both burst out laughing until they were crying.  It took good few minutes before one of them calmed down enough to explain she was actually Robert's sister, Carrie.  Then I made the mistake of saying Robert never mentioned he had a sister.  Our beautiful visitor glared at Robert strong enough to freeze over hell and went to pour herself a drink.  Then she calmly started going through his drawers and cupboards, all the while Robert was ordering her to stop.  She just ignored him until he demanded to know what she's looking for.  Carrie told him to shut up so he did.  Then she triumphantly held up a picture frame and described, one by one, each person in the photo.  There were nieces, nephews, in-laws, the whole family.  Robert disappeared halfway through.  Carrie said he'd gone to sulk somewhere while plotting his revenge," he finished off with a conspiratorial whisper.

Further revelations concerning Robert's family were put on hold due to the arrival of Polder's burns team and they set to work immediately.  Feeling surplus to requirements, Elizabeth left them alone, simply requesting to be notified when they were finished.

Two hours later, Polder knocked on her office door and settled himself in her visitor's chair.

"He certainly did quite a number on himself!  We've removed all the dead skin and covered the arm with an artificial skin that will protect against infections.  I gave your staff care instructions but I'll stop by each day to make sure.  At the moment, the arm looks quite red and sore but once the skin has had time repair itself, that should disappear.  Once it's sufficiently healed, you should arrange for skin grafts to cover worst of the scars.  That is, if Robert wants to go down that road."

"Well, that's good news.  Thank you, I'm sure Robert will be very grateful when he wakes up."

"I hope so.  I have quite a few favors to ask of him and now I have a tool of persuasion."

"Good luck! Anyway, I checked Robert's file and there is no mention of next of kin to contact in emergencies.  If he has family, they should be informed about his condition."

"If Robert hasn't listed anyone, perhaps he doesn't want them to be informed," Polder argued back. Elizabeth frowned at his reasoning but then shook her head.

"He needs his family right now."

"Well, its your decision, misguided as it is.  If you think you can get away with overruling the patient's wishes."

"I think I can handle Robert Romano.  I've been doing so for nearly seven years."

"Well, it's your neck.  We can also do with another surgeon at Rush if..."

"Just give me her name, Dr Polder," Elizabeth interrupted to avoid what promised to be a lengthy condemnation of County again.

"I thought you British were obsessed with politeness."

"I've spent far too long on this side of the Atlantic and in Robert's company."

"Ouch, I'm going to tell him you said that.  Let's see, if I remember right Caroline's surname was Harris and she lives in Vancouver.  I don't know if Robert has her number in his office but you should be able to get it from the operator.  Well, my work here is done.  Good luck with the sister," he offered.

"Thank you.  I'll let you know if there is any change in his condition."

"I'd appreciate that."

Elizabeth made a quick trip down to ICU, ostensibly to check Polder's handiwork but also to reassure herself that Robert was still holding his own.

Then she quickly searched his office for his address book but he must have taken it home.  His Rolodex was simply filled with medical and administrative contacts.  Giving up, Elizabeth was about to return to her own office when she met Brenda, Robert's assistant, as she walked out of Robert's office.

"Dr Corday!  Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually.  Robert's sister, do you have a number for her?"

"A number, no, but an address, yes.  He sends her flowers every so often so I took the liberty of making a note of it.  You won't tell him I gave it to you will you?" the other woman questioned as she flipped through her own records.

"No, certainly not.  Do you think I'll be able to get her number with this?"

"Sure.  If you call the Canadian operator, they should be able to give you the number based on the address."

"Thanks."

It took a few minutes but eventually Elizabeth had a telephone number for one Caroline Harris.  She composed herself before actually dialing, knowing that her actions were probably going against Robert's wishes.

She wasn't expecting a male voice to answer but managed to collect herself enough to ask to speak to Carrie, explaining that she was a friend of Robert Romano before he passed the phone over.

"Yes, this is Carrie."

"Hello, my name is Elizabeth Corday.  I work with your brother Robert at County hospital in Chicago."

"Yes, he's mentioned you."

"Well, I've only just learnt Robert has some family."

Carrie laughed blandly before replying,

"So what has he done now?"

The questioned wasn't asked in a nasty tone, more of fondness, which gave Elizabeth the courage to continue.

"Were you aware Robert was scheduled for surgery earlier today," she asked carefully.

Carrie was silent for while before she asked with some fear,

"Undergoing or performing?"

"Undergoing I'm afraid.  I really can't go into details over phone but the surgery did not go as planned.  I'm sorry but Robert is currently on life support in our ICU."

The ensuing silence on other end was so long Elizabeth was on the point of asking if there was still someone there.

"Um, OK," Carrie replied in a very shaky voice, "I'll be on the first flight to Chicago.  Is he...I mean, does it look very bad?"

"For the moment, he's stable.  That's all I can say without giving any false hopes."

"Thank you.  Should I ask for you when I get there?"

"If you want.  I may not be on duty when you arrive but a nurse should be able to contact me in any case."

"OK, thank you again."

Elizabeth just had time to reply 'your welcome' before the line went dead.  She slowly replaced the receiver and sincerely hoped she had done the right thing.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note - not new chapter

Dear all,

I am so extremely sorry for not updating the stories. I simply got off at the wrong stop on the RL mystery tour and ended up with a baby, mortgage and husband. Unfortunately, I've managed to misplace all the story outlines and non-published chapters and I don't have time to redo all the work. I'm still looking though but don't hold out much hope.

So, I formally declare open season on them - feel free to take and exploit.

Again, my apologies but I have more important things to do right now.

MR


End file.
